Working safely with compressed air

Photo courtesy Atlas Copco

With social distancing now commonplace in our lives, employers are facing ever-increasing scrutiny over their responsibilities to both employees and visitors to their site.

Health and safety in the workplace is now firmly in the spotlight, and as businesses adapt to the challenges of a COVID-secure working environment, it is crucial that other areas are not overlooked in the process.

This is particularly the case when working with compressed air and ensuring that all users know how to work safely and understand the risks involved if good practice is not followed says Roy Brooks, Technical Development Officer for the British Compressed Air Society (BCAS).

It’s all just air, isn’t it?

Compressed air is made from the atmospheric air around us, is invisible, odourless and non-toxic.  In that respect it continues to be a safe and reliable form of energy for numerous industrial applications, but if not used properly it is likely to cause injury.

One of the common challenges that many health and safety managers face is that users can become complacent and overlook the fact most compressed air is pressurised to at least six times atmospheric pressure – and it is this pressurised energy that can create a hazard if not managed properly.

In addition, the noise created by unsilenced compressed air when exhausting to the atmosphere also needs careful consideration to ensure it remains with legal limits.
Eliminating unsafe work practices is essential to improve and maintain the safety in the workplace and users should be encouraged to report any unsafe working practices.

Compressed air and the human body don’t mix!

While health and safety practices continue to improve continually and employees understand their obligations to creating a safe working environment, intentional or accidental misuse of compressed air can occur.

Compressed air injection into the body at any pressure can cause serious injury, or even death, so it is always worth reminding users not to use compressed air to clean off dust or debris from their clothing or skin and to avoid dislodging debris that could cause bodily harm.

Everyone’s responsibility

The Health and Safety at Work act states that an employee must take reasonable care and follow all procedures laid down by his/her employer to create a safe working environment for everyone.

To ensure this is achieved, every employee, through the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations should receive training in order to use compressed air equipment in the correct manner.  While the onus is on the employer to provide adequate training, users should also feel confident that they have received adequate instruction and should not guess or improvise if there is any uncertainty.

Additionally, it is important that the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) is provided to all using compressed air tools, that it is worn correctly and fits properly. Depending on the application, this can include safety goggles/glasses, ear defenders, gloves and face masks.

Equipment types and hazards

There is a wide range of handheld pneumatic equipment and each type has its own associated hazards.  These fall into two groups; where the compressed air drives a motor, e.g. grinders, sanders, nut runners or where the compressed air is used directly through a nozzle, e.g. blow guns, spray guns.

These air powered tools give rise to a number of hazards requiring various items of personal protective equipment to be worn to help protect from noise and vibration, sparks and dust.

Both groups of tools are typically connected to the compressed air supply by a flexible hose, which can also present a range of potential hazards. For example, the connection between the hose and tool or the hose clamp can become loose, through wear of tampering.  Attention should also be paid to quick-release couplings, which may not be pushed home properly or have worked loose through wear,

To help mitigate against this risk, users should check both the hose itself and its connection with the tool for signs of wear and tear before use. For example, rubber hoses may perish over time and crack which could lead to an escape of air.

Frequent use or disconnection can weaken the hose near the tool/air supply, so this should be checked regularly to ensure it remains in sound condition

Hoses should be fitted with the safety mechanisms described and fastened in a safe manner.  If the hose coupling has no exhausting air control, it is worth fitting a slow release exhaust valve or a two-stage disconnect mechanism instead, which are much safer and can reduce the risk of injury from whipping hoses.

Blow gun safety

The end of a blow gun must never be blocked, nor pointed at anyone and should not be used for general cleaning purposes, such as cleaning clothing, especially while being worn, or benches.  Vacuum cleaning is a far safer option.  

Because the gun produces a stream of high energy air from the nozzle it is essential that this is not blocked with a finger or any other part of the body as serious injury could be sustained.

One way to help minimise the risk of injury is to only use blow guns which have some form of safety feature, either a safety-pattern nozzle or a safety mechanism which cuts in if the nozzle becomes blocked. If the blow gun not have a built-in safety feature, then reduce the pressure to 2 bar or 30 PSI gauge pressure. And ensure that safety goggles or glasses are worn at all times.

In conclusion

While the hazard of pressurised energy within compressed air cannot be removed completely, it is possible to reduce the risk of injury.  Encouraging users to report potential dangers and fostering a culture of self-responsibility, can significantly improve workplace safety when working with compressed air.

BCAS training

BCAS offers a dedicated ‘Working Safely with Compressed Air’ course via its new e-learning portal.  The course covers the employer’s and employee’s responsibility for safety in the workplace and outlines why air users must know how to work safely and understand the risks involved if good practice is not followed.

Undertaking this course will help fulfil employers' health and safety obligations and provide evidence, via the online assessment, that the individual has understood safe working practices and their responsibilities.
The hour-long course covers the hazards of compressed air as an energy source, the use of personal protective equipment, employer and employee responsibilities with respect to health and safety when using compressed air and a list of safe working practices to be followed.

For further information about the full range of BCAS training courses on offer, including class-room based training, please email [email protected] or call 0207 935 2464.